FIRST WARRANT OFFICERS APPOINTED AS CHIEF INSTRUCTORS

Senior Warrant Officer (SWO) Quek Ser Hiang and SWO Thalapathi S/O K Veeraiyan have the honour of being the first two warrant officers of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to assume the appointment of Chief Instructor at the Specialist and Warrant Officer Institute.

They received their letters of appointment from Chief of Army, Brigadier-General (BG) Chan Chun Sing at a ceremony held at the Rocky Hill Mess at Pasir Laba Camp on 13 Apr.

Previously, the Chief Instructor post was held by Majors and Lieutenant-Colonels in the SAF. The warrant officers' assumption of this leadership appointment reflects the Army's strong emphasis on the combat trainer's role in the Warrant Officer and Specialist (WOSPEC) Corps.

This expansion in the roles and responsibilities of warrant officers as combat trainers is geared towards meeting the needs of the 3rd Generation SAF, recognising the increasing capabilities of warrant officers in the military and providing enhanced leadership to the WOSPEC Corps.

The warrant officers' seniority and wealth of experience are instrumental in helping them carry out their jobs as Chief Instructors, which involve keeping training standards in check, reviewing and updating present curriculum, as well as developing new ones. These ensure that trainees optimise their learning potential while instructors maximise their efforts.

Besides overseeing his trainees' competency training and keeping track of their learning progress, SWO Quek looks after his instructors' professional and personal development as the Chief Instructor of the SAF Warrant Officer School. He is working on building a culture of continuous learning among his instructors for he hopes they will take individual development seriously.

"It's my job to prompt them and encourage everybody to enrol in at least 40 hours of training - be it enrolling in Army-related or NIE (National Institute of Education) courses to keep current with what's happening in the latest Army policies and the latest instructional pedagogies," he explained.

In addition, SWO Quek also sees the importance for his instructors to constantly seek new knowledge and upgrade their skills to remain relevant.

"If you were to continue to be an instructor, you'll have to keep abreast with whatever that is happening in the world outside by continuing to take up courses to improve yourself, both in your professional and personal lives so the younger specialists, like the Master Sergeants and the Third Warrant Officers, will look up to you," advised the 49-year-old.

With regards to curriculum development, SWO Quek has set his sights on delivering up-to-date content. To achieve this, he taps on the varied expertise of his warrant officers and other individuals across the Services.

"My colleagues in the instructional team have different training backgrounds. Some of them are from the artillery battalion while others come from the Air Force and Navy, so each of them brings with himself or herself a pool of knowledge. By knowing their strengths, I can review the syllabus and ensure its relevance and timeliness," explained SWO Quek, who is a signaller.

For SWO Quek, taking on the role as instructor has always been a calling and seeing warrant officers take charge of the training of other warrant officer trainers was his ultimate goal.

"As warrant officers, we gain our experience on the ground so I thought this new appointment as Chief Instructor helps to manifest our roles more explicitly as the chief master trainer," said SWO Quek, who was among the pioneer batch of trainees at the first warrant officer course in 1992.

Like SWO Quek, SWO Thalapathi's work entails ensuring that training requirements are met and training standards are maintained. SWO Thalapathi is the Chief Instructor at the Specialist and Warrant Officer Advanced School (SWAS), formerly known as the Advanced Section Training Wing (ASTW).

As Chief Instructor, SWO Thalapathi designs the syllabus and coordinates the training means. He sees himself as being responsible for his directing staff's development in their training skills and encourages them to improve themselves through attending personal and professional development courses.

"It is indeed a great honour for me as one of two Senior Warrant Officers in the army to be appointed as Chief instructor and I am grateful for the trust that the SAF has given me," said the 53-year-old.

SWO Thalapathi works with specialists in the Army during the Platoon Sergeant and Company Sergeant Major courses held at the SWAS, which he believes are the best platforms for moulding the present and future WOSPEC leaders.

"By emphasising the technical and tactical proficiencies and sharpening the fundamental skills of the trainees as well as enhancing the instructors' development, we will be able to contribute to the Army's standards in training and operations," said the guardsman who has clocked some 35 years of military experience under his belt.

SWO Thalapathi considers his new appointment as Chief Instructor to be "a milestone and a big step forward in paving the way for the new generation of warrant officers to take on higher appointments of this nature".